blood and guts alternate harm rules for apocalypse world These rules replace the regular rules for characters taking harm in Apocalypse World, including the “Harm” countdown clock, the harm move, and the rules for being “Shattered”, “Broken” and so on. The rules for inflicting harm, harm for gangs, vehicles, and NPCs, all stay the same.
Wound Moves
When someone takes harm, choose an injury from the list below, appropriate to the level of harm they took, and the circumstances of the injury. For example, if someone takes 2-harm from someone hitting them from behind with a length of pipe, look at the 2-3 harm section, under the “blunt” header, and choose something from there. Maybe “Out Cold” or “Smashed Collarbone”. It’s up to you. Let how the player describes what their character is doing guide your choice, both for what injuries they take, and for what injuries they inflict. Let armour turn sharp injuries into blunt ones from time to time. Most of the time, choose what seems most logical. Every now and then, though, choose something unexpected.
They drop something
The description of the injury tells you what to expect of the character. Describe what’s just happened to them, how much it hurts, what it feels like, The idea is to get everyone on the same page about just what the character’s situation is. You want to align people’s expectations. Then, when the player wants to defy those expectations, they can make the appropriate move. Probably “act under fire”.
Drop something
As well as this, the injury works like a threat, and you can make moves for it just like any other threat, from the list below. You can make custom moves for injuries if you like, too. For example, a lasting concussion could have a move like: When you take a blow to the head, roll +hard. 10+ You’re ok 7-9: You’re dizzy, nauseous, and out of it for a few moments Miss: You’re out cold, and lose one from your Sharp. You might want a “bleeding” countdown clock. Start it at 6:00 if it was a serious wound (Harm 3+). Past 9:00, they’re struggling to stay conscious. At 12:00, they’re very dead. You might want an “infection” countdown too. Start it at 6:00 if they’ve got a lot of exposed flesh (burns and such). Past 9:00, they’re in delirious fever. Past 11:00 they’re bedridden. Past 12:00 they’re dead. Probably you’ll need to change the Healing moves a lot, too.
They pass out They come to Advance the bleeding countdown They miss something important They lose their footing A wave of pain stops them in their tracks They die The wound is infected Some 7-9 results for Acting Under Fire: Take -1 forward Miss something important If you do it, you’ll be bleeding (advance the bleeding countdown) If you do it, you’ll get the wound all infected
0-harm
\2-harm and 3-harm
\4-harm+
Winded: The air is knocked out of you. You’re down for a moment, while you struggle to breathe.
blunt
blunt
Broken Jaw: Your face is messed up, and your jaw is broken. You’ve probably lost a bunch of teeth too. Chewing and talking above a whisper is going to be a challenge for the next couple of months.
Abdominal Bleeding: You’re messed up really bad in your guts. This is not going to be fun. Things that are going to be hard: Not passing out from the pain; not dying from shock and blood loss in about five minutes; not dying from sepsis and organ failure in a few days.
Graze: You’ve lost a bit of skin. It hurts. Staggered: You’re off balance, stumbling, momentarily losing focus. Pinned: You’re keeping your head down. Stung: Shards of shrapnel sting your face. Bloodied: A cut to your face, or maybe a blow to the nose, is bleeding more than is reasonable. Torn: You’re fine, but something you’re wearing is ruined.
\1-harm blunt Cracked Rib: One or two of your ribs are cracked, and it hurts to breathe or move around too much. Once the adrenalin wears off, you’re going to find it hard to get moving again,unless they’re strapped up. Broken Nose: Your nose is pasted all over your face. Right now you’re going to find it hard to see anything or do anything until you shake it off. Then you just have to deal with rivers of bloody snot. Head Shot: Your ears are ringing, and things are swimming in front of your eyes, it must have been a glancing blow or you’d be dead, but staying upright for the next little while is going to be a challenge. You’re going to be feeling sick and dizzy for a few days.
sharp Stuck: There’s a hole in you where there didn’t used to be. If there’s still something stuck in it, moving around or anything is hard. If you can pull it out, you’re still going to be bleeding, and that’s going to slow you down in a few minutes. Lucky it missed the important bits. Gashes: You’ve got a few shallow cuts on your chest or belly or back. They hurt like hell, but they don’t slow you down too much. The real danger is bleeding. If they’re not bandaged you’re going to get pretty weak pretty soon. Infection will be a problem later on.
bullets Graze: The bullet opened up a nice long rip in your skin, and it’s bleeding and it hurts. While your blood is up, you barely notice it, but once you cool off, it’s going to suck. We’re talking passing out from blood loss if it’s not strapped, and then a week of it hurting every time you laugh, run, or roll over in bed. Flesh Wound: You’ve caught a bullet in some meaty part of you, and it’s leaking blood. You probably fall over right now, and it’s going to slow you down until you can get it healed up, in a week at least.
Smashed Collarbone: This is bad news. Lifting anything with that arm is gonna be very difficult, and running is going to hurt like hell. Not much you can do about it either, short of surgery. Maybe in a month or more it’ll heal right, but it’ll never work quite the same again. Broken Arm: The bone in one arm is shattered. Lifting anything with that arm is pretty much hopeless, unless it’s splinted. Even then it’s going to be hard. Busted Hand: Catching a blow to the hand means a couple of broken fingers. Keeping hold of whatever was in that hand is your immediate concern, and then whether you can do anything useful with the hand until it heals in a few weeks. Broken Leg: Suddenly you’re on the ground, and it hurts a lot. There’s a bone broken in your leg. Walking on it un-splinted is out of the question, and it’s going to be painful even after that. Right now it’s going to be a challenge to keep your shit together for the next five minutes. Out Cold: A solid blow to the head puts you out like a light. This isn’t hollywood though, so you’re not waking up like after a good night’s sleep. We’re talking nausea, dizziness, foggy memories, and potential longterm damage.
sharp Mangled Face: And you were so pretty. Now your nose is hanging by a thread or you’ve got an eye falling out or a missing ear. There’s plenty of blood and it hurts like hell. For the rest of the fight you’ll be struggling to see, and you’d better get bandaged after that or it won’t get better. Slashed Arm: A deep cut on your arm means serious blood loss. Soon that arm is going to get weak and your hand will be slippery with blood. Missing Fingers: It’s not like you were using them, right? Hanging on to whatever was in that hand is going to be pretty hard, and chances are you’ll not be using the hand much until it heals. If you’re lucky the hand is still usable. Leg Wound: There are a few important arteries in the leg, and you’re bleeding out of one of them. In a few moments, there’s a good chance you’ll pass out from blood loss, and if it’s not bandaged, you might even die. Walking is gonna be hard too.
bullets Choose one of the “blunt” options, and add bleeding and falling over Gut Shot: You caught one in the belly. The pain is something awful, and you’re fighting back nausea. You’re up and about for now, but without actual surgical intervention, it’s all over for you, after eight hours of agony. Bleeder: You’re hit somewhere soft and full of arteries. Maybe the neck, the thigh, or the chest. Blood is just coming out everywhere, and the world is getting awful dark. If someone is around to put pressure on it, you’ve got maybe half an hour.
Skull Fracture: This is probably the end of your career. You’re out cold for sure. It’s unlikely you’ll come to within the hour, or if you ever will. If you do, you’ll probably be learning to walk and talk again. Smashed Arm: Oh man it’s ugly. Like, the bone is all poking out of the skin and your arm’s hanging funny, and right now it’s all white and pink and it doesn’t hurt at all, but pretty soon it’s going to get pretty bloody in here. You’re not doing anything with that arm, and in a few minutes it’s going to be hard not to pass out from the pain. If you don’t die from an infection, you’ll live, but that arm isn’t ever going to work right again, and it might have to come off. Crushed Ribcage: Your priorities: Not being dead right now; not being dead in the next five minutes, not being dead from infection and internal bleeding in the next few days. Broken Spine: So, forget about walking ever again. Think about staying conscious right now, and about living through the next few hours. Smashed Leg: The bones in your leg are smashed to splinters, and there’s just a soggy mess left behind. You’re not going anywhere, and chances are you’ll pass out pretty soon. If the leg’s not amputated, you’ll die of an infection for sure, even with the leg removed, there’s a good chance you won’t make it.
sharp Split Skull: There’s really no coming back from this one. There’s bits of your brain outside your head. Decapitated: The blow caught you in the neck, which is bad news for you, because your head works better when it’s attached to your body. Eviscerated: A gash has split you open, and your insides are quickly becoming outsides. You’re not dead yet, but short of a miracle, you will be soon. Missing Arm: The blow sheared straight through the bone of your arm, and you’re left with a leaky stump. There’s a good chance you’ll bleed out in the next few minutes, but if you get immediate attention, you might live. Impaled: You’ve got a big hole all the way through something important. It feels pretty weird, and, you’re dying fast. Missing Leg: Your leg is either gone or nearly gone. There’s a lot of blood, blood that you need to live. Short of a miracle, you’ll be dead soon.
bullets Choose one of the “blunt” options, and add bleeding and falling over Choose one of the “sharp” options, and add bleeding and falling over if it didn’t have it already Shot Up: You’re riddled with bullets, bleeding all over. You don’t have more than a couple of minutes to gasp out some dying profundity.